Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Oscar Watch: American Honey (2016)

Hello, Bloggers, welcome to another episode of my Oscar Watch where I discuss trailers for upcoming Oscar contenders. Now on paper, the trailer for the film in which I'm about to review might not seem like a contender on paper but is something that could hopefully get some kind of push by its distributor. That film is American Honey from Andrea Arnold for A24 Films.

A24 Films is currently coming off of three Oscar wins: Room winning Best Actress for Brie Larson, Amy winning Best Documentary, and even Ex Machina shockingly winning Best Visual Effects over blockbuster heavyweights like Mad Max: Fury Road and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. So with the roll they are on, they can easily be more in Oscar's good graces with their latest projects. That of course depends on its release date and/or whether it is too "younger generation" for the older voters. One thing that does help is that Andrea Arnold is an Oscar winner for Best Live Action Short Film when she won in 2004 for Wasp. Also, the film won the Jury Prize at Cannes.

As for the film itself, how does it look? Amazing! I think newcomer Sasha Lane looks like she is doing terrifically and if the film catches fire, here's hoping she doesn't fade like Katie Jarvis, Arnold's previous discovery who starred in the underrated Fish Tank and hasn't been heard from since. Shia LaBeouf also looks terrific here but one actress who looks to be a real standout is Riley Keough as a member of the gang that Lane's character joins. I've been fond of Keough's work in her film debut in The Runaways and as one of the Five Wives in Mad Max: Fury Road. But here, she looks like a real scene-stealer. I also think the cinematography looks beautiful. Then again, why wouldn't it when it has Robbie Ryan, the same cinematographer who did Fish Tank?
So I'm really excited for this one. I was a fan of Fish Tank so I'm anxious to see Andrea Arnold's U.S. debut. Be sure to share your own thoughts on how this looks as well as whether it seems like something that can make its way to the Oscars. Thanks for reading!